


We were closer than we thought

by JustCharlieBruh



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: A lot of Canon Divergance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Black Organization (Meitantei Conan), Characters will be added when needed, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kaito is confused, M/M, Multi, Probably a lot of OOC incidents, Shinichi is Pandora, Shinichi is tired, Slow Burn, Somewhat, The Kudous might be bad guys, and Haibara suffers as she deals with pining idiots, how do tags work, sorry this is such a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-06 19:19:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11607276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustCharlieBruh/pseuds/JustCharlieBruh
Summary: Where Meitantei is Pandora and everything is horrible. (The title comes from a neat poem by one S.B)[Gone under major renovations, most of the story has been rewritten and flows better now.]





	1. Where Hope Used to be

Finding Pandora was always supposed to come with a myriad of emotions. Relief, anger, despair, happiness. Perhaps even a sense of slight emptiness now that Kid was no longer needed. Yet as he stares at the red-blue of Meitantei’s eyes, he can only feel horror and slight anger, because the cause of his father’s murder is _right there._ Is standing right in front of him, has been _chasing_ him for the past two years and he didn’t even know it. Kaito takes a shaky step forward and Meitantei takes a tentative step back. For a moment, he wonders why, but then rationalizes that he must look manic at the very least.

“Kid?” Meitantei barely gets to call out, to blink before the detective finds his head is gently tilted up to face the moonlight. As red bleeds further into blue, Kaito feels his breath leave his lungs and the world warps around him slightly for a moment before snapping back into place. This is a fucking mess, a horrible nightmare of a mess. And yet, he blinks, feels the gravel beneath his knees and the warmth under his gloves and this can only be real.  

“How long?” The question is quiet and laced with steel that makes the child- but Meitantei isn’t really a child, has _never_ been a child- flinch, makes him close his eyes and rest small hands on white-sky blue sleeves. Kaito watches with hawk-like focus, waiting as Kudo, as _Pandora_ starts and stops several times. Watches as the not-child’s eyes snap open to scan surrounding rooftops then finally rest on him with that world weary gaze. Watches as his rival gently removes himself from his grasp and picks up the large frames, watches as the red disappears beneath them.

“We can’t speak here, KID. We need somewhere less open.” Kaito’s whole body tenses for a moment, because does he think that he’ll just allow him to leave? Without getting answers? Meitantei holds up a hand, “There are too many chances here for someone to overhear and ruin everything. I’m sorry, but you’ll need to wait a little longer for answers.”

Faintly, he wonders if the miniature detective in front of him can read minds like some of the police force like to speculate.  Then he realizes that his Poker Face must be shot to hell, that his main line of defense is gone and Meitantei could see everything. Kaito sneaks a glance at Meitantei, not sure what to make of the sudden lack of emotion. It’s terrifying, how they’ve switched so easily.

“Do you know the Kudous’ address?” The voice is light, childlike, and no matter how hard Kaito searches, he can’t find the weariness that was there before. It sends a slight shiver down his spine, but he nods anyways, not trusting his voice at all. “Good. Shinichi-niisan wants to meet you later.”

* * *

Kaito falls onto his bed with a soft ‘oomph’. He scrubs at his face, feeling drained and tired as one would be when one of their closest friends(?) turns out to be the reason why their father was murdered. Fuck, the night had gone so wrong so fast. He had meant to just swipe the not-boy’s glasses as a segue to banter the night away, not cause his whole world to crash around him.

That little seed of anger is heavy in his chest as he flips onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow. It stays there, no matter how much he tries to reason with himself that the detective wasn’t at fault.

How do you know, something dark whispers, perhaps this is why he’s the way he is?

Anger flares again and he forces it behind his Poker Face, forces everything behind his Poker Face. Hazarding a glance at the clock, Kaito groans at the time. 06:50, thirty minutes to sleep then, before he had to get up and ready for class. Today will be rough, he thinks, drifting off to see only the black beneath his eyelids for the first time in years.

* * *

He shuts the door with a sharp thud, not pretending to hide the fact that he wants to be alone. Hakubaka had been eyeing him since the walk this morning, making snide comments about last night’s heist that he really didn’t have energy to refute. Mixing that in with Aoko’s angry rants of KID being a no-good thief and Akako’s cryptic comments about Greek mythos and something about death made him wish that he had just stayed home.

 During class, he had bit his lip and clenched his fists, trying to stay in control of his Poker Face and not lash out at anyone. It was tough, especially whenever he saw Hakubaka’s blue eyes or even his own in the reflection of the glass. His anger would spike, before he mentally reminded himself that Hakuba’s eyes were the wrong shade. And for the first time in his life, he actually hated how similar he looked with Meitantei, to the point that even their eye color was similar. It took his subtly shifting to a slight violet every so often to calm him slightly, hoping that Meitantei’s eyes couldn’t it either.

 Aoko’s angry shouts from the other side of the door bring him back to reality slightly, only for his shoulders to slump. Right. Tonight he’s going to meet Meitantei in his original form. That would be fun. “Mou, Aohouko, just go and hang out with Hakuba already. I’m fine, besides don’t you guys have that date today?”

 Kaito tries to be all cheery, but he knows that something in his voice, in his attitude today gives away that he is not at all fine. The knocking stops and so does the shouting, but he can hear Aoko spluttering, can hear as Hakuba and Akako slowly coax her next door with unsure promises of him being better tomorrow. He snorts, quickly moving from the door to his room to get ready. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few smoke bombs, just in case.

* * *

He slips into the Kudou mansion without much resistance. He doesn’t know why he expects any at all, Meitantei trusts him and it leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Because he doesn’t know how to feel about Meitantei anymore.

The air in the mansion is dark and oppressive and he may or may not be a bit light-headed from being so drained. He puts it aside to deal with later, for now he moves into the library on cat quiet feet. Meitantei, in all his Kudou Shinichi glory, is draped across a couch, staring directly at him. 

“I would have expected the full regalia.” He quips, and for a brief second Kaito’s anger flares, before he squares his shoulders and rights the black cap atop his head.

 “I came for answers, Meitantei. Not to play.” In the back of his mind, he hopes somewhat that Meitantei is at least a little bit intimidated by a serious KID currently decked out in full black and half hidden in darkness. The little smirk tells him otherwise as Meitantei sweeps out an arm with a bit of a flourish, “And answers you will get. Take a seat, KID.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most likely will be rewriting this after this story is done


	2. Truths Learned and Choices Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaito gets most of a story, makes a choice, and meets a terrifying tiny chemist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you took a shot every time the word Meitantei came up, you'd be dead by the middle of the first chapter.

“I’d prefer to stand.” Kaito mentally strengthens his poker Face into something blank, takes a deep breath and pushes the anger deep inside. It wouldn’t do to lash out here, not when the answers are so close. Meitantei only blinks and shakes his head slightly, “Don’t cry to me when your legs start to cramp.”

Shadows flicker across his rival’s face and it makes the blue of his eyes all the brighter. Kaito tries not to think back to the times where he’s seen them light up at the mention of Holmes or shadowed by the grief and anger and hurt of murder. Or when they’d do their rooftop dance and his eyes would glow beneath his glasses with amusement and relief. His stomach turns at the thought of the amusement being something darker.

“The story starts,” and Meitantei pauses at a car passing by, light filling the room from its headlights and everything is bare for a moment. Meitantei’s slightly tense form, his own shaking from a mess of emotions, the slight bruising on the detective’s arms that he hadn’t seen before. Kaito lets out a shaky sigh, frowning at how his knees shake, “it really is better if you sit, KID. This is going to take a while.”

And so he does, on the slightly old, but very comfortable chair in the corner of the room. He sits back, lets himself check the possible exit routes again and count the smoke bombs on his person. “Well,” he winces at how shaky his voice is, “how did this mess start?”

Meitantei watches him for a moment and he tells himself that he doesn’t see the concern radiating off his form or the slight movement of him reaching out slightly before settling his hand on the back of the couch.

“It started in a hidden lab with a handful of scientists held at gunpoint to make everlasting life. Given a bare description of a doublet and its myth, they slaved over their work. It took years and so many lives.” He’s grabbing onto the armchair so hard that it creaks, his father’s face flashing before his eyes, watching as Meitantei takes a watery breath as both their eyes move to the moonlight streaming through the window. “Their success took the shape of a baby, created from a test tube with mixed DNA from two of the scientists and a member of the organization. With such good progress, news had traveled fast through the compound, as not even a few days later, That Person had visited. He wanted to dissect the babe, to figure out how to use it for its purpose…”

Meitantei’s whole body stiffens in front of him, eyes glazing over with whatever memory he was reliving. Kaito’s stomach churns at the sight, at the anger that’s died down and been replaced by guilt and the familiar horror that hasn’t left since the last heist. The air around them is certainly tense, full of unspoken questions and a story that still needs to be told. Kaito clears his throat, flinching a tiny bit as those intense blue eyes lock on him. “Right.” Meitantei murmurs as he sits up from his draped position, “Where was I?”

“That Person wanted to take apart the baby to use it for immortality.” Kaito grimaces as he says it, not liking the image it creates. He files away people of reference, the two scientists and a member of the organization that created Meitantei, and the person that wanted to take him apart and probably still does.

“Having heard That Person’s plan, the scientists came up with contingency plans to keep him away from the child, having gotten attached to the child as well as being forced to work on such a project. After all, no one should have eternal life.” Meitantei runs a hand through his hair, looking incredibly nervous and so human and yet not that Kaito’s heart hurts slightly. And yet, Kaito stays put, lets Meitantei break in front of him, because Kaito was already out of his element before and now

Now, he needs to at least process a little bit of what he’s learning. There’s no way in hell that he can process it all right now, but when he does, he’s sure that the mess in his stomach will finally be resolved. Hopefully.

“So, what did the scientists do?” He feels himself lean forward as Meitantei gives a little smirk, a tiny bit enthralled with how he could hate Meitantei who’s had to deal with this type of secret for so long and yet managed to stay so strong all the while.

“The parents faked their deaths, rebuilt themselves from the ground up and moved to the heart of Tokyo, made friends, made connections. Hid themselves so well that it took a chance meeting with a certain magician for the organization member who helped created the boy to find them. Together, the magician’s students warned him that an organization would hire him to steal a ‘gem’ that could bring immortality. They pleaded for him to refuse and at first he said he would agree. It was just a gem with a dark myth behind it, and if he could negotiate for a large enough sum of money to support his family for the rest of their lives, who was he to say no?”

Here, Kaito grimaces, he knew his father would do anything for their family. It was their creed to do anything for family, no matter the consequences. He can only hazard a glance at Meitantei as the detective rubs at his eyes.

“Then, he learned that Pandora wasn’t a gem at all, but his friends’ child. And he couldn’t give up a child to people who sounded so horrible. At least, that’s what Kaa-san said, that his face dropped when he heard that Pandora was actually a child his son’s age.” Kaito can feel the pointed glance, but he keeps his Poker Face, filing away the information that Meitantei knows who he is, but won’t use his name. He feels a bit of warmth in his stomach at that, at Meitantei not using something so important without permission. And he lets Meitantei move on with the story, not noticing how he droops from exhaustion from so much worrying and the sudden relief. Barely feels Meitantei scoop him up and move through the house until he’s deposited onto a soft, cool bed.

Kaito hums in contentment as a soft hand removes his hat and brushes hair away from his face, “Rest, KID, we can continue the story tomorrow.” And those soft hands remove his shoes and tucks him in, and he dreams something soft for the first time in a long time.

************

The next morning comes in a blur of color and someone screaming. Kaito shoots up out of a bed, mind already archiving potential exits and whirring through the memories of last night, blushing a little bit from Meitantei’s actions. Another scream tears through the air, from the bathroom he realizes faintly, going from low and full of pain to whimpers, childlike and tired. He doesn’t even think, unlocking the door to find a steaming Conan on the floor, half hidden by Shinichi’s clothes. His mouth is dry, stomach turning, because this is horrible. What Meitantei’s had to face and still has to face is horrible and Kaito doesn’t know whether he should just turn tail and leave or stay and hurt himself as he puts Meitantei back together.

 _“Do what you will with this information, KID. I won’t blame you for any choice you make.”_ He closes his eyes for a brief moment at Meitantei’s whisper moving through his mind.

It’s a tough choice to make, but he’ll find a way to keep everyone safe. Not happy, but safe.

Mind made, he steps forward, into the steaming air and towards the not-child before him. The anger that was for Meitantei that he thought had died roars up again for the Black Organization that has ruined so many lives and ruined Meitantei’s before his even began.

With a feeling of grim determination, he scoops up his tiny, slightly nude, rival and sweeps out the bathroom with as much flourish as he possibly can in completely black attire. Dazed blue stares up at him, cracked lips mouthing ‘why’ repeatedly and he can only feel KID’s famous shit-eating grin slip onto his face as he deposits him onto the bed. “I’ve decided that I will offer my help as long as I get warning before hand to get ready. I don’t want to endanger the others more than I have, but you’ll need all the help you can get too.”

He rubs his hands together with a slightly sadistic grin. “So, what should we do first?”

************

Apparently, the first thing to do was change and then meet Haibara Ai, the little lady that gives off the same air of not-child as his rival does. The door opens with a slight slam and he takes a few steps behind Meitantei at the glare she levels at the both of them.

“Kaito KID?” Dry and humorless, her glare turns into a small smirk as he suddenly feels very naked under her gaze.

Meitantei grabs him by the hem of his shirt and drags him inside while simultaneously pushing the other not-child back inside with such energy that his respect for him raises. He lets go once they’re all safely inside and stands across from them with such a serious look on his face that Kaito can’t help but chuckle a tiny bit. He bows respectfully to a stuttering Agasa and switches both his and Meitantei’s shoes for slippers. The little lady next to him rolls her eyes as she moves forward to grab Meitantei and drag him to her ‘dungeon’ as Meitantei had called it during his brief explanation.

“Is he fully caught up?” He strolls behind them as they move down the stairs.

“No, he passed out from exhaustion before I could explain what your parents and Vermouth had planned for certain scenarios.” Kaito feels that flush from before rise slightly, embarrassed at not keeping his cool long enough to hear the whole explanation.

“Well then,” she purses her lips before stopping him at the door. He watches as Meitantei moves deeper into the darkness. “Considering my charge hasn’t told you the full story, you won’t be allowed down here. I won’t allow all our hard work to go down the drain just because you touch something and cause some sort of information erasure.”

“I won’t-!” He begins to protest, before she whips out a gun and points it straight at him. From what he can see, it’s authentic, and he’d rather not get shot today or any time soon. So, slowly, he makes his way back up the stairs, and goes to instead introduce himself to the still shocked professor in the living room. That’d definitely cut some time, considering he can ask how exactly the scientist had made those neat gadgets that almost caught him multiple times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, any criticism is greatly appreciated. Currently 6:27 AM, so I will be heading to bed.

**Author's Note:**

> This is so squished, I'm terribly sorry about that. This is sort of an impulsive post as it's currently 4:11am and will probably be fixed to the best of my ability later. Gladly taking criticism to help.


End file.
